Oct 31, 2016

The Sour Lemon at DesignerCon

After its debut booth last year, The Sour Lemon returns to DesignerCon [Booth #1800] with even more juice. Started by toy collectors Henry Loh and Andy Hick on their travels in Japan, The Sour Lemon is spreading. In fact, Pushead just mentioned that ‘next’ is The Sour Lemon at Dcon… Keep an eye on TheSourLemon.com for more face-twisting goodness.

Firestarter Design at DesignerCon—GID and Stone Gold Darumao

Sarah Tan of Firestarter Design will be making the trip from Singapore to Pasadena for DesignerCon with a legion of her cute Darumao resin figures. She’ll have the Dcon Exclusive GID Darumaos aka Meowrendil (25 pcs, $70, 2.5”) as well as three Stone Gold Darumaos and two blank stone pieces—each sculpted and cast by Whalerabbit. They’ll be available from the Firestarter Design booth [#1211].

It all goes down at The Rose venue which is directly across the street from the convention center. In addition to Secret Walls, the party will feature additional live art, music by DJ Z-Trip + exclusive merchandise from Mishka and others.

Lightsleepers x UPND – MM Doom Pre-Order

In conjunction with UPND, Lightsleepers is now taking pre-orders for their cleverly dope MM Doom 5” resin figure. Limited to 100 pieces, the 4.5” figure blends Metal Face with everyone’s favorite mouse. It’s available for pre-order over at the Lightsleepers shop for $50 (+s/h) and is slated to ship on November 19th.

Broke Piggy – DesignerCon 2016 Preview

Broke Piggy is returning to DesignerCon (11.20 – 11with plenty lined up for the big show including two custom shows and a mystery sofubi drop. First up is Bricked showcasing the work of artists known for their toy design and graffiti skills on brand-new walls—special 5” brick wall plaster MAD*Ls created by Mr. The Sanders. The lineup includes MAD, Angry Woebots, Deph, Jesse Hernandez, kaNO, Marka27, Scribe and Sket One. Next, The Bots return with the Toy Within a Toy exhibit featuring 8” custom Dunnys designed by Scott Tolleson, Uamou, Jeremiah Ketner and The Bots. We’re guessing that The Bots will bring the artists’ designs to life in their trademark clay style, much as they did with 2015’s Hold Your Breath series.

In addition to the two shows, Broke Piggy has teased a new sofubi release from a mystery Hong Kong-based artist. Expect a few more announcements as well as we get closer to the show. All of it will be available from the Broke Piggy booth [#527]

Codec Zombie – Mini Kubrey in 3 Colors (11.4)

Codec Zombie is about to launch three colorways of his new Mini Kubrey resin figure. The follow-up to his long since sold out Kubrey homage to the influential director, the new smaller editions will be available in Typewriter (yellow), Redrum (red), and Monolith (black) on Friday November 4th @ 7 AM PDT from the artist’s web store for an as-yet unannounced price. The first Mini Kubrey in white was released at NYCC and is available via Spoke Art for $40 (+ s/h). For more on the Kubrey project as well on Codec Zombie’s other figures check out our video interview with him.

Oct 30, 2016

Stephane Levallois x Artoyz – Story Killer: Little Red Riding Hood

Stephane Levallois and Artoyz have several toy projects in the works. In addition to the recently announced pair of new Toxic Candies figures—Pomme d’Amour and Berry—Levallois has also created the new Story Killer series. Story Killer revisits and re-imagines classic fairytales, empowering and transforming female characters, from those in-need-of-saving to conquering heroes. First up is the striking Little Red Riding Hood who’s slain the wolf and has taken to wearing his head (in full grin) as a trophy. Artoyz recently offered the Snow edition as an exclusive at Paris Comic-Con and will soon offer it from their online store. In addition, an OG (red) and all-black editions are in the works.

Mist x Artoyz – Devilo Erictus

Mist’s massive ice blue devil sculpture for his just opened Ascendant Cloud exhibit at Kolly Gallery bears more than a passing resemblance to his upcoming Devilo Erictus vinyl figure with Artoyz. This time around his signature paint devil character strikes a confident and stylish pose—making a hand gesture while resting on his knee and curled tail. The blue colorway was available for pre-order at the recent Paris Comic-Con, so hopefully we’ll see a wider release shortly. Based on the Artoyz pic below , it looks like we can expect at least two more editions, possibly Silver + Orange and Yellow + Red.

Red Hot Style – Halloween Kilin Release

Red Hot Style has announced a 3rd Halloween release. This time around it’s the new 鱼化龙 (Kilin) which features a deceptively fun design with a removable chinese lion head that reveals a funky fish head underneath. Limited to just three pieces, it’s available ($238 + s/h) via lottery through 10.31 (presumably China time) by dropping an email to 1984253856@qq.com – which means you should enter now.

Flying Fortress x Artoyz – Revival Of The Teddy Troops!

Are the rumors true? Yes they are! Artoyz and Flying Fortress are bringing back the Teddy Troops with an all new series, dubbed Teddy Troops 2.0. These new figures were revamped and re-sculpted by Muffinman and now feature two new versions, which includes a “Regular” edition and a Spraycan Edition. There will of course be some painted versions and DIY. Could there be an artist series in the works as well? The new TT’s stand the same height as the original Teddy Troops at 3” tall. We’re waiting for more updates as development progresses. Stay tuned.

Oct 29, 2016

Uh Oh Toys – Cut Nose GID Pre-Order

Uh Oh Toys has revealed its first full-size soft vinyl – Cut Nose. Standing 8” tall with six points of articulation, the sculpt showcases the warrior’s mutated Buffalo origin and hints of the Native American warrior within. To get things started, Uh Oh Toys is offering a pre-order of an unpainted GID edition for $80 (+ s/h) from their webshop which will also include first dibs to forthcoming editions.

“CUT NOSE is an ancient mutated buffalo spending years evolving and merging with other creatures and eventually being possessed with the spirit of a Native American warrior seeking justice and only finding violence.”

Mmmm… Pocket Pork Dumplings S2 will debut at DesignerCon from the myplasticheart booth [#414]. The follow-up to Shawnimals’ first vinyl dumpling series features twelve varieties including one mysterious delicacy. So far, we’re partial to the cylon-inspired dumpling, though the moustache ones are pretty cool too. Hit the jump for more sneak peaks from mph and Shawnimals of the upcoming designs as well as the box mock-up from NYCC which features line art from the 11 standard designs.

Andrea Kang – Puff Puff at PiQ Grand Central (10.29)

Andrea Kang opened her Puff Puff solo at PiQ Grand Central in NYC earlier Saturday evening (10.29). The show features a collection of 10” x 10” gouache on wood panel original paintings, each for a very reasonable $300. The work drifts effortlessly between cute and mysterious. PiQ also has three of her pins—including the new Puff pin from myplasticheart—available as well. If you can’t make it out to the store, check out the web catalog of the show complete with online ordering.

Kidrobot x Sega – Sonic the Hedgehog Retail and Exclusive Editions

Speed to burn! Kidrobot has just released it’s Sonic the Hedgehog Medium Figure in both a standard retail edition as well as their own exclusive metallic version (above). The diorama-style figures feature Sonic zipping through a game level, gold rings in his sights. The exclusive edition features metallic touches throughout – from Sonic’s blue fur to the flower and the shiny golden rings.

The exclusive metallic edition is available for $75 direct from Kidrobot.com. The standard edition in the classic colors is available from your favorite retailers including Mindazi and more as well as Kidrobot.

tokidoki – Cactus Pets Drop + Release Party (10.29)

Beginning with the very first tokidoki toys—Sandy, Sabochan, and Bastardino—the spiky and spunky Cactus Friends have been favorites with collectors. The new Cactus Pets series continues the fun with ten adorable cacti characters from cats and dogs to a turtle, frog, and even a goldfish—a fun chase (1:32) which comes in its own fishbowl. Cactus Pets will be released on Saturday (10.29) from retailers such as myplasticheart and many, many more for $7.99/blindbox. And… If you’re in LA, don’t miss the official Cactus Pets release party at Pussy & Pooch Pet Lifestyle Center in Beverly Hills from 11 AM to 2 PM (flier after the jump).

Inami Toys – Halloween Tumble Tops

Inami Toys is back with more Rock, Paper, Scissors spinning top fun. The Halloween Tumble Tops feature three characters (Ninja, Miner, and Pirate) in three spooky colors – Orange, Green, and Purple. Surprise? Yep, there are also 10 marbled chase variants blending in a touch of black! Limited to 40 blind assorted pieces, the Halloween Tumble Top resins are available now for $12 (+ s/h) over at InamiToys.com.

Reactor-88’s Custom Corner – Ian Ziobrowski

Welcome to the October 2016 edition of Reactor-88's Custom Corner. This month we’re featuring the creator of Nugglife, Ian Ziobrowski.

What’s your name?

I'm Ian Ziobrowski, and I'm the founder of Nugglife which is a lifestyle brand circling around art and premium clothing. The company started off in the custom toy designer industry and it centered around just a few connoisseurs -

NUGGS, THUGZ, and Crook Ed the Cop- characters that live the American Dream without society standards. During the evolution of this series my business partner and I started developing premium cut n sew clothing inspired by the true hustlers, connecting the art and clothing at once.

Oct 27, 2016

Alex Pardee x Mighty Jaxx – The BackPack (10.29)

First shown at STGCC, the funky fresh The BackPack figure (200 pcs) from Alex Pardee and Mighty Jaxx drops on Saturday (10.29) at 7 AM PDT from the Mighty Jaxx webshop for an as yet unannounced price. A BFF figure as only Pardee can do, the piece features a pairing of Pack—a hearty, friendly-looking pink fella—and Back—a blue mobility-challenged beast with a slightly less charming appearance. Together they are the ‘greatest treasure hunters in the land of Yux’. Monsters, Puns, and Laughs—yes please!

JP Toys x Fools Paradise – The Last Why

Next up from Fools Paradise is the JP Toys exclusive The Last Why—fresh from the funhouse—just in time for Halloween.. Cleverly named, this is a Joker-themed Green+ Purple GID version of the recent ‘The Last Ride’ featuring Low Fool as the Caped Crusader. Limited to 200 pieces, the latest in the Coin Rides Game series will be available from JP Toys on 10.30 at 10 PM PDT, perhaps via Playhouse. Fools Paradise will also offer the edition beginning on 10.31 at 9AM PDT for $295 +$30 for global shipping.

With The Last Why, Fools Paradise doubles down on their recent tattoo-heavy deco. It’s fun, crazy, over-the-top and a bit nuts—stylish kitsch at its best.

Coarse – Cold Ways Book Pre-Order

Coarse’s remarkable Permanent Guest featuring Raccoon dutifully dragging Fish—lounging in his tub—was drawn from a saga that had yet been told at the time of the toy’s release. Fast forward to now with the impending release of Cold Ways, an illustrated book from Coarse detailing the tortured story of the fateful day Raccoon met fish, an event that forever altered him. The book [8”x10”, 73 pages] features a story written by LA-based writer Andrew Greenberg and 30+ illustrations by Sven Waschk. The Cold Ways hardcover w/dust jacket is available for pre-order from Coarse HKG for 75 HKD [~ US$35] + s/h. The book is slated to ship in November. If you’re in LA, Book Soup on Sunset apparently has it.

Woot Bear x Scott Wilkowski – Infected Wootkowski for DCon

Scott Wilkowski and Woot Bear are prepping new skeletal Wootkowski figures—Scott’s take on the store’s mascot—for DesignerCon. While not officially named, we’ll go with Infected Wootkowski still we hear other wise. We’re assuming these are WIP protos with the final pieces double cast as usual.

Oct 26, 2016

Mariangela Tan – Day’s Eye at Wootbear (11.5)

Brooklyn artist Mariangela Tan will bring her signature wool + crepe paper soft sculpture flowers to SF with Day’s Eye opening on Saturday (11.5) at Woot Bear. Under glass, innocent faces nestled at the center of the petals deliver an eye-pleasing and heartfelt aesthetic. On a deeper level, the pieces explore spontaneous and unexpected transformations through plant mutations known as fasciations.